What An Awesome Week!!!!

It was my first week back from spring break and you know how those weeks can go.  But...... I think today and this week was one of the smoothest days / weeks I have had this school year.  It was awesome!  I am going to try and link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday!

For the last quarter I switch from science and teach health.  First I had my fifth graders work on designing a school lunch for one day but they had to follow the US guidelines that our school follows.  This was the video I used in my Google presentation to inspire them, school lunches in Paris, France.  You should have seen the reaction of the kids to the idea of eating escarole for lunch!  LOL  We had a pretty heated debate after this video.  I divided them into five groups and when they are done they need to create and design a daily lunch that they would eat but meets the US regulations.  I cannot wait to see their lunch ideas! 

With my fourth graders in health, we are looking at food labels.  So I found this awesome website Fooducate and printed out the five different food labels (FREE) and put them into five groups.  They answered the questions and then presented the information to the class.  The next day I partnered them up with a different food label and had them fill out a worksheet comparing the 2 food labels.
 

Every Friday I do "Flashlight Friday" where the kids can bring in a flashlight and a furry friend to read with.  They LOVE this and look forward to it every week.  My kiddos that were not book lovers now beg to read!  We now read for 30 - 45 minutes at a stretch but boy did we have to build up endurance.  At the beginning of the year they were a bit squirrelly after 10 minutes.  They make me so proud!  I usually try to meet with a few kids to discuss what they are reading or AR scores at this time.  I tried to take some pics of the kids without their faces showing but oops their faces were showing too much.  Ugh!

Also in reading we are working on the final project for our historical fiction genre with Bloom Balls or a 3D figure that is twelve sided.  On each panel the kids have to do something about their book they read in book club such as;  problem, solution, setting, character, sad part, favorite part, text to self..... No pictures yet but if you Google "Bloom Ball" you can find tons of images and the templates.

Then finally the last thing that made me really happy.... my lesson plans, grading, newsletter and gradebook are all done so I do not have to do any school stuff over the weekend!!! The one thing I cannot live without and makes my life easier and is sooooo worth the money of $12.00 a year.  Planbook an online lesson plan program.  I love this website because I can just merge years and presto my plans are pretty much done but for a few tweaks here and there!

Well I am off to dinner with my hubby and girls.  My oldest is at a friends house.  Have a fantastic weekend! 

Spring Break, Vents & Food

Yea!!!!  It is April and the weather is at last changing after a cold and snowy winter. I have been seeing peeks of spring everywhere.  My willow tree bloomed, the daffodils are popping out of the ground and crocuses are blooming.  How beautiful....

 Also it is Farley's awesome linky party!!!! Click HERE to check out her hoppin' party!!   This I my favorite linky especially since I am on spring break so I can link up kind of early. Also check out those cute chick graphics what is not to love.

Listening- Okay that is obvious to any parent with kids home on spring break too. 

Loving - I think every teacher at this point in the school year needs a break.  I know some teachers do not get a spring break.  How do they do this home stretch????

Thinking - I always need to clean and every Currently I want a cleaning fairy but she never comes!  LOL So it is up to me....and boy do I need to. I am taking a break now after taking all my heater vents off and vacuuming and wiping them down.  Talk about gross with 2 dogs, 1 cat and 3 kids (not counting the hubby) the vents become hair and dust collectors!  Now I hope to vacuum and wash the carpeting next but I am still hoping for the fairy to come save the day! 

Wanting - We all wanted to go somewhere fun over break but with a family of 5 it can get expensive.  We did do a lot of fun things so far over break;  Skyzone, formal dress shopping with my middle (Nope, we did not find anything.  Is there such a things as a formal soccer jersey??), ear piecing for my youngest, poker party for my oldest and we have a few more days to have some fun especially since hubby will be home through Monday.  Yahooo!! he is always up for an adventure.

Needing - Ok one word....teenagers!  They eat me out of everything within a few days.

EGGS-plain your name - Well I think this is obvious with the blog name of 4th & 5th grade Happiness.  I have been a teacher for 19 years and have pretty much taught 4th & 5th grade the entire time.  The intermediate grade kids are AWESOME.  They are old enough they do not need to be babied (NO hanging on me, blowing noses or tying shoes...I taught preschool for one year.)  but they are not too cool to still like / love their teacher. Most of the kids love to come to school and their curiosity is contagious.  I also love the curriculum at this age and I am usually smarter then a 5th grader!  LOL  What is not to LOVE about 4th & 5th grade, it makes me happy to see their smiling faces everyday!  One strange thing is I never completed 4th grade due to kidney disease.  Hmmmm what would a psych say about that? 

Happy Thursday & Happy Easter,

Animals, Animals, & More Animals

Good Evening!
Well I am officially on spring break and I hope to get some cleaning, organizing and some much needed time with my family.  The weather looks like it is going to be a little cold here in Ohio but that's okay.  It will motivate me to get things done instead of wanting to be outside.

I do want to share what I did with my kiddos at the end of the third quarter.  For the fourth quarter I teach health to my fourth and fifth graders.  To end the third quarter we completed my Extinct, Endangered and Threatened Animal webquest with my fourth graders.  If you are interested in the webquest you can find it HERE. 

Partners were given an animal from a children's museum website so they do not have to go anywhere else to do the research. I link up the URL through my Google Classroom but you can make a QR code, email the link to your students or use an URL shortener site.  They were then given a graphic organizer to help them search for answers in the museum article. The partners needed to then turn that information into a poster that would be presented to the class as the animal expert.  Oh was I pleased with their work. Take a look...

What have you been doing in your classrooms?  I love to hear and see what wonderful creativity is out there.

Happy Sunday,

There Is A First Time For Everything!

Ok I should have blogged about this last week but I think I am still a little star struck.  I went to my first ever Insta/ Blogger and Teacher Meet Up last Friday.  I am telling you I was so out of  my comfort zone I was in another time zone!  Not knowing,  I mean really not knowing a single person and driving an hour and a half by myself to meet these strangers was a scary as H-E-double toothpicks!  But I am so happy I did.  The positive energy and sharing was wonderful and extremely motivational. These ladies were awesome.  They LOVE teaching as much as I do!  So refreshing!!!

 Tami over at O-H So Blessed planned, organized and hosted this wonderful 2nd Annual NE Ohio Blogger Meet Up.  She was so welcoming and warm when I wanted to hid in a corner ( I am normally very shy in new situations).  Then Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd was the first person to introduce herself.  When I figured out which blog she wrote I was star struck!  Ashley was one of the first bloggers I started to follow! OMG  There was quite a few others that I follow too!

As you can see by my tri-fold I was trying to write down notes on things the other ladies were sharing without looking like a total nerd / stalker.  BTW I did get the book Essential 55 that Diane over at One Giggle was talking about.  I can't wait to read it this weekend.  Thanks Diane!!

What a great weekend!  I can't wait to go to another.  I just wish I was going to Vegas in July for the TpT conference!  Now talk about star struck....

Happy Friday!

Washing Machines, Copies & Spring Break - March Currently

Well I have officially posted twice in one day! I know the unwritten rule is only once a day but I could not pass on Farley's Currently Linky Party
I love looking at everyone's post and can lose hours of time when I should be doing school stuff.

Listening - Of course to the washing machine.  I am always doing laundry with a family of 5.

Loving - The light at the end of the tunnel, spring is 18 days away.

Thanking - I should have went up to school and did copies.  The copier is always crazy in the morning especially Monday morning. I like to have that all done if I can. Oh well:(

Wanting - The snow to stop.  We just got another 4 inches and I so want to see flowers, grass and buds on the trees.  I know, I know another 18 days.

Needing - I new outfit for the Ohio Blogger Meet Up next Saturday.  I am so nervous about going to the meet up.  I never been to one but have been seeing other bloggers' meet ups and am very curious. Was hoping a new outfit will give me some confidence.  I will blog about it next week.

Spring Break Plans - I hope to do some deep cleaning and organizing.  My hubby took off a few days too since we are all off the same week.  I hear a road trip calling us.  Who knows what adventure lies ahead of us.

I can't wait to check out everyone's Currently posts.

More SNOW and Science Stations

Happy March 1st!

Spring is right around the corner right?!?! Uh here in Ohio we are projected to get another 4 inches of snow!  Boooo!

But it has to be coming soon.  Right?

I wanted to share what I have been doing in science this month....

In science we have been studying light and sound in fifth grade and in fourth grade weathering.  With 31 kids in each class it is tough to do experiments even in groups.  Too many needs or behavior issues (off task, not following directions...)  and only 1 me.  So I started doing stations to move the kids through each experiment/activity. 

Last week in fifth grade I want them to test objects if they were transparent, translucent or opaque and why they knew.

Station 1 - Flashlight Lab - Test for light in a straight line & what happens when it hits certain objects; Aluminum foil, plastic wrap, waxed paper & a scratch plate (very cool results).

Station 2 - Sound & Light Sort (preview to this week's sound lessons).  It is FREE HERE.

Station - Study Jams Light Video & Guided Notes on the Google Classroom

In fourth grade I wanted them to really grasp the weathering, erosion and deposition process.

Station 1 - WED Crawl - The group had to pull cards to see what role they would get, weathering, erosion or deposition.  Then weathering had to "break" apart Mega Blocks (Larger Legos), erosion "carried" the blocks on their belly and crab crawled to the deposition group who "deposited" the blocks into a landform.  I did find this idea on Pinterest so it is not my own.

Station 2 - Weathering Sort - Sort cards into weathering, erosion, or deposition piles.  I found this Weathering Sort by Laura Chandler and it is FREE!

Station 3 - Study Jams Landform Slideshow and guided notes on my Google Classroom

Each group spends about 10 minutes at each station then they move to the next.  I am then able to float between stations to answer questions, check on comprehension and manage any behavior issues.  The next day I go over all the answers to each station. 

This seems to be working well.  On to light and different mediums and fossils this week....



Happy Sunday,

Snow, Lesson Plans & Refund

Of course it is Farley's Currently Liny Party. 

I love this linky! So stop by and leave some lovin' It is so fun to look around at the other blogs and find a few new blogs to follow. 

Here is mine.  Not very exciting this month...

 

 

 

Ok we are in the middle of a winter storm here in Ohio.  Nothing like out east but we have about 8 inches so far and it is still coming down.  Call me superstitious... I am wearing my PJ inside out and backwards, a spoon under my pillow and I am flushing ice cubes on the hour down the toilet.  LOL!

The next three are pretty self explanatory. 

Today I am truly needing nothing.  I have a safe and warm house with my kids and hubby.  I am content and happy.

I am not sure if the Queen of Worry can be a pageant title but I am a worrier by nature.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,